31
Life Cycle Emissions: EVs vs. Combustion Engine Vehicles (elements.visualcapitalist.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/science@kbin.social
46 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

We look at carbon emissions of electric, hybrid, and combustion engine vehicles through an analysis of their life cycle emissions.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 13 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (5 children)

A missing, but important, element in this discussion is vehicle disposal/recycling capability and environmental impact. The current state of battery recycling adds another layer of complexity to this equation.

https://www.autoblog.com/article/electric-car-battery-recycling-reuse-storage/

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    @SmolderingSauna That's a false argument that the fossil fuel lobby loves to bring up. The reason there isn't widespread recycling of EV batteries is because 99% of all the EV batteries that have been made are still in operation. The batteries typically outlive the cars, and are put to secondary uses for stationary applications.

    https://blog.ucsusa.org/hanjiro-ambrose/the-second-life-of-used-ev-batteries/
    https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/energy-storage/used-ev-batteries-are-storing-solar-power-at-grid-scale-and-making-money-at-it

    If you want to ring your hands about battery waste, the US throws out about 54 megawatt-hours worth of lithium battery storage each month in the form of single-use electronic vapes.

    @Tigbitties

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    I'm coming from a vehicle OEM. Down cycling isn't recycling: we can't decompose EV batteries and reuse/recycle like we can, say, steel.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    @SmolderingSauna Sorry, I'm coming from a PhD in chemistry, and that's BS. There is more than one process to recycle the the metals in batteries, and they're all >98% recovery. Atoms are atoms. They're not alchemically trasmuted into other elements.

    The reason that they're being used is because they're still good. When they're no longer good, they can be recycled. It's just going to take another decade before we have a substantial need for recycling them. That's not a bad thing.

    @Tigbitties

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    @Nessussus that's great insight. I recall reading a paper about using magnetic fields to enhance performance of some EV battery cells.

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211285521009538

    There is so much research into new, innovative ways, to build a better battery and increase performance. I have no doubt that the total carbon footprint of EVs will continue to decrease. Smaller batteries, lighter weight, increased range, faster charging. All good things.

    Can you recommend any relevant papers about EV battery recycling? I'd be interested to learn more about that process.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent